Archive for February, 2011

Many birders who keenly monitor wetlands across the country have had a somewhat disquieting year. It seems that several migratory birds across the country have been giving some of their usual haunts a miss. Newspaper articles1-6 over the past months have reported lower number of birds or few species of birds from wetlands across the country. Even some of the most widespread and common migrants like the Garganey have not been seen at a number of locations across their recorded distribution in India.

Reports from the latest Asian Waterbird Census suggest that a number of regular migrants at Delhi’s Okhla Bird Sanctuary, like the Black-tailed Godwit and Garganey (photo), did not turn up this year, while several other species like Gadwall and Bar-headed Goose arrived in much smaller numbers1,2. Similar patterns have been reported from the Keoladeo Ghana National Park in Bharatpur3 and sites across Maharashtra4 and Karnataka5,6.

The media reports, mostly informed by local expertise, have suggested that apart from the usual suspect (habitat loss), unseasonal rains just before the onset of winter are a major reason for the altered patterns. The most severely affected habitats appear to be natural and man-made wetlands that lie downstream of large dams in rain-affected areas. The argument is that water released from the dams submerged islands presumably making conditions unfavourable for a number of species such as the Garganey that forage in shallow water.

MigrantWatch Data

A glance at the MigrantWatch data also seems to suggest that some of the species have been reported from fewer locations this year as compared to last year. (Links lead to MigrantWatch data on the species.)

The Garganey (Anas querquedula) was not reported from Hyderabad, Pune and Nagpur this season (2010-2011) but it was reported from these locations last season (2009-2010). The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) was reported from Jamnagar in Gujarat and Udaipur in Rajasthan last season (2009-2010) but not this season. The Common Pochard (Aythya farina) during 2010-11 has been reported less than half as often and from far fewer locations than during the 2009-10 or 2008-09 seasons. The Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) was only reported from Uttarakhand, Goa and two locations in Gujarat this season; last season it was also reported from locations in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Black-tailed Godwit also was not reported from locations in Goa, Kerala and Karnataka this season.

We should caution that these findings (about MigrantWatch sightngs) should not be taken as definitive. Since the total number of sightings reported to MigrantWatch in the 2010-2011 season is lower than in the previous season (1,887 versus 2,745), it is possible that the absence of species from particular sites or States may simply reflect the lower reporting rate. Note also that MigrantWatch does not have the goal of assessing year-to-year changes in species distribution or abundance — for that, the Asian Waterbird Census is the appropriate source of information.

Still, sightings reported to MigrantWatch contribute to an overall picture of what is happening to our migrant species. So please do upload your sightings for this season to MigrantWatch so that the combined information becomes more and more valuable.

While it is not new that climate (including rainfall) can affect the distribution of waterbirds, much remains unknown. For instance, where do the displaced migrants go? Do they merely redistribute themselves locally, moving to other wetlands created by the rains? Or, do the changes in rainfall patterns bring about much larger-scale changes in bird migrations? If you have information or an opinion on these questions, please do add a comment to this post.

2 Feb 2011; World Wetlands Day marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands, called Ramsar Convention, on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

Wetlands in India come in a variety of forms ranging from small village tanks to large river systems and backwater lakes. Wetlands are exciting and vibrant ecosystems which host a wide variety of species. Over winter, Indian wetlands attract a large number of migratory birds. Nearly one-third of the species on the MigrantWatch list are birds that live on wetlands or extensively use wetland habitats. Some prominent visitors include several species of migratory geese, cranes, storks and flamingos.

MigrantWatchers across India have diligently monitored numerous wetlands over the past few years, generating valuable data from not only popular locations such as the Chilika lagoon, but also several lesser-known wetlands that dot the countryside.

Wetlands are highly threatened ecosystems and are declining at an alarming rate. Among the plethora of threats they face, over-exploitation, drainage for land development and pollution are among the most prominent. There is a pressing need for increased awareness and action to conserve wetlands.

Join us in celebrating Wetlands Day. Wetlands Day works as a reminder of the crucial services that these fast disappearing habitats provide not just to us but also the birds that we love to watch.